Gasp! A first! Shout outs!

YamiTai- I know this is going to sound incredibly dumb… (Blushes) Where is Praha and Vienna? Oh god…everybody read about the stupid ness that is me. Anyway, I'm so glad you and the internet have reunited and thanks for the encouragement!

Takako- OMG! You bought the DVD? Where you interested in PotO before this, or have I created another phan? (adds you to my list of recently added Phantom Phans) Mwahaha…

Nakamura Aiko- Of course you're a loyal reviewer. Mikomi Taisho's stories— your anti-drug P haha, j/k!

hazeleyegurl28- Hazeleyegurl, guess what? I have hazel eyes too! Don' you think the world is just over-populated with brown-eyed people (no offense guys) Anyway, I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story! Keep reading, okay?

pnaygurl767- (hugs) One of my loyal reviewers! Erik, Miroku! Come here, would you?

Erik: Yes, ma ange?

Miroku: Mikomi-sama?

Me: Would you two be so kind as to give this girl a kiss… (Clears throat) Erik, you do yours on the cheek. Miroku, do whatever you want…but no groping.

Miroku: . . .

goddesofwisdom- I'm so glad you thought it was great!

angel-of-music246- (adds you to my list of recently added phantom phans) People like you make me so proud to be an author…(tear)

BlackTopHat- Tickets… you got tickets…(pouts) and you didn't buy me one? After all I've done for you, writing these chapters and slaving over an overheated computer…I get no tickets? (Starts crying) No…no…I'm happy for you, I really am. I'll get over it in a minute... Erik!

Erik: There, there Christine… we'll put on our own show, just you and me…(kisses my forehead)

Me: (sniff) O-okay…(cuddles into him)

inugirl4evamore- you love it, I love you!

sangofan89- Thanks for the review, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Please, come over and have some tea with Erik and I anytime you'd like.

LilDoggieDemon- You SET YOUR LOAWN ON FIRE? How in the world did that happen? (Gasps) Thanks for the review. I wouldn't ever want to know what your flame-age is like. (gulp) Keep 'em nice…

You know I'm j/k!

Nicole Hershberger- I'm not sad anymore! I just found out you love my story!

Dark Darianna Minamino- I won't let Miroku die, my dear! Just don't cry anymore!

Alyanorne- I'm sure you don't stink at writing! Your muses have not abandoned you! And if they have…well then…they're not very good muses. Who needs them? Humph!

SlayerSango23- You live! Oh, how I've missed you! Are you still going to write that story about Don Juan? I'd definitely read that (hint hint)! Yes, I try to make Inuyasha as Inuyasha-ish as possible. Lol.

cHeRry BlOsSoM pUnKEr- Nah, I'm lazy too…It's 5:44 in the evening and I'm not dressed…ha…I'm a loser…

SuperShouri- I. LOVE. YOU. MORE.

So there.

Demon Exterminator Barbie- Body heat is better than blankets…but I must keep this story T-rated. Or do I?

….How many people want a lemon here? Anyone? Annnyyyonne…?...

Poor Miroku, people are so quick to rush to conclusions…

Ayuluvsinu- Loyal reviewer, how I adore thee! Mwah!

Kuronosuke, Ginta and Hakkaku stared at Bankotsu.

After a little while, Ginta nodded. "Yeah, I guess… but how is the question! Policemen have tried to go after him, and then told us stories about some crazy "torture room", and how one of their numbers disappeared and was never seen again. Did you know about that? One of the men—Ahoku, or something like that—went in after the Phantom and never came back. The policemen who waited outside of some trapdoor for him eventually gave up and left. This man—if he is a man!—is almost invincible!"

"Almost is the key word there." Bankotsu told them firmly.

"He's right." Hakkaku added, "Hey you, Kuronosuke!"

Kuronosuke looked at him and nodded slightly, "Yes?"

"You shot the guy! And…and he bled, right? That proves he's mortal—he can die just as easily as any of us can."

"And we'll make sure he does!" Bankotsu exclaimed. "I think I have an idea…"

Kuronosuke suddenly felt a guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach, but quickly brushed it off and listened.

Sango sat at her desk and brushed her hair, then pulled it up with a white satin ribbon. She carefully pulled on an every-day dress, and then stepped out into the hallway, only to be automatically bombarded by a ballerina.

Sango smiled when she saw it was Little Rin, then patted her on the head and stepped aside. "What are you in such a rush for?" she asked gently.

"Late for rehearsals!" Rin gasped, and then hurried away down the hall again.

Sango grinned after her. Poor thing… Madame Kaede won't be happy about that…

Suddenly she stopped. What of her rehearsalsNo one had told her anything about practice times yet, and she was starting to worry. Perhaps the managers had decided not to do the Phantom's opera after all…and just for extra spite, had cast her out of the next opera that they did!

Sango whirled around and took a few quick steps in the direction that Rin had gone. Then she stopped herself, trying to come back to her senses. This was nonsense! If something of that sort had happened, she would have heard of it by now! She took a few deep breaths, and then wondered what to do for the rest of the day. After all, apparently her rehearsals hadn't begun yet, and there was basically no point in lounging about her room all day.

For a moment she wondered what Miroku was doing, he was probably busy—and if he wasn't, he might still be recovering from his near-death experience.

She shuddered as she recalled that… she wouldn't have been able to stand it if anything had happened to him!

Inuyasha had escorted her back to her room, but not after she had quickly removed her wedding dress and placed it lovingly back on the mannequin. Hopefully Miroku wouldn't have noticed if it had shifted a bit…

Without noticing, Sango's feet had led her to where practice was taking place. To her surprise, Kagome was sitting to the side, just watching as the other girls practiced.

When the ballet girl spotted her, she smiled and waved. Sango hurried over to where her friend was sitting and seated herself beside her.

"What's going on? Why aren't you dancing?"

Kagome laughed. "Kaede is getting frustrated with some of the other girls. She let me and Kagura sit out, because we were getting tired and we were the only ones who got the dance right. The other girls keep getting this part wrong…" Kagome motioned to the dance steps that the other girls were attempting.

Sango tried not to giggle, but it was pretty hard not to. The girls were all out of sync. As she watched, two ballerinas ran into each other, and one fell over trying to do a pirouette. Kagome joined her giggles—it was just impossible not to laugh. Madame Kaede started scolding the ballerinas, and told them to start over again. This time was just as bad—if not worse.

"How much time do you have off?" Sango asked when both of the girls had composed themselves again.

"Quite a while, I'd guess." Kagome said with a smile, "Considering that the other girls aren't even close to getting this right."

"Good. Do you want to go to town, or something? I have an afternoon off, too, and I don't know what to do with myself."

Kagome grinned. "Sure… Let me tell Madame Kaede and Mama where I'm going. I'll meet you in a little bit on the front steps.

Sango nodded and started off to get her coat. As she reached the doors, she could hear Madame Higurashi's conversation with her daughter.

"Mama, Me and Sango—"

"Sango and I."

"Sango and I are going out for a walk. We'll be gone for a little while."

"Fine, but be careful—"

Kagome started to move towards the door.

"—And Kagome, dear?"

She turned back.

"Don't even think of wearing that dress! I saw you at the masque ball! My word, Madame Kaede had a reason to be angry with you! I know you've hidden it somewhere, but I'll find it eventually."

Kagome gave a half-smile to her mother and hurried after her friend.

Sango smiled as Kagome caught up with her. Finally, things seemed to be getting back to normal.

"So… The Phantom attends the opening of Don Juan. We lock all of the doors, and post policemen at every one of them. Then, we hide some more gun men down in the orchestra. As soon as we see the Phantom in Box Five, which we reserved for him, we order them to shoot him. Did I miss anything?" Ginta asked.

"No. The plan is quite simple—but, I think we'll find, quite efficient. Even this mysterious Phantom won't be able to live long with a great deal of bullets in him." Bankotsu laughed cruelly.

"It's sure gonna work…" Hakkaku agreed, amazed. "This may be the end of our troubles!"

"Non, Monsieur… it will be!" Bankotsu corrected him, whipping a tear from his eye.

Kuronosuke paled. He didn't like the idea last night, and he certainly didn't like it now. He didn't want to kill the man, merely place him an insane asylum with a straight jacket on of some sorts. If he were to kill Miroku, Sango would never forgive him. She'd further herself from him more so than she was doing now. But Kuronosuke remained silent. It was for Sango's own good.

"Only one thing…" Hakkaku added, breaking Kuronosuke out of his meditation. "What if something …something that we don't expect happens? What if, for example, he doesn't appear in Box Five?"

"He will."

"I'm just saying, what if he doesn't? We do have to be prepared for the unexpected."

"I agree." Ginta said with a frown. "So far, this man has been unpredictable."

Bankotsu frowned. "Why wouldn't he be in Box Five? Where else would he go? You don't honestly think that he'd join the common crowd!"

Ginta frowned. "I don't know… I just have a feeling that the Phantom has something up his sleeve… Bankotsu, I don't want anything to go wrong… I don't want anyone else to get hurt! This man has proved that he is not afraid to kill…"

"And if someone else dies, well, that would be the end of the Opera Populaire!"

"Yes… we can't take chances."

"Very well." Bankotsu sounded amused. "Then we'll just tell everyone who comes to arm themselves with revolvers, and to shoot anyone they see wearing evening dress and a half mask!" he laughed. "Get a grip, men! Nothing will go wrong. Trust me."

Ginta sighed. "We trust you, Bankotsu… It's the Phantom we don't trust. You can't blame us for wanting to make sure nothing goes wrong, after everything that has happened!"

Bankotsu shook his head exasperatedly, then shrugged. "Fine. Have it your way… if he doesn't show up in Box Five, what do we do?"

Ginta ran a hand through his hair. "That's just it… I'm not sure. His next move is always hard to predict."

"Then let him make it." Bankotsu exclaimed, "This is just like an elaborate game of chess! Sure, we lost a few pawns… we even lost our queen—" (it was quite obvious he was referring to Kikyo here)—"But we still shall prevail! All we have to do is apply a strategy, trap him in a corner, and, Check Mate! We win. Don't worry about it… it will all end well."

Ginta sighed again. "I certainly hope so."

The day Kagome and Sango went to town was the last day they were able to for a long time. Over the next month, they were both worked so hard that they never had time to go out and have fun, for in the moments when they weren't rehearsing for Don Juan, they fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Kagome's days were full of practices for the ballet, and her mother was getting more and more anxious over the state of the dancing. Out of all the hours they worked, the ballerinas were slowly but surely getting better at long last. At least, now they could perform the dance decently, though it was far from the perfection that the Phantom was demanding.

Sango was worked, if possible, even harder than Kagome. Her days were full of blocking and choreography for the show. Monsieur Toto-sai worked with her on the dances and the acting, things such as where to go and when. Surprisingly, he never worked on her voice. Sango had vague suspicions that Miroku had something to do with this, but she never asked. She didn't want to bring such a touchy subject up. Besides, it wasn't as though she needed the practice anyway, for every evening—though sometimes stretching late into the night—Miroku trained her voice to sing his music.

Even Miroku was beginning to feel the strain of the upcoming performance. He found himself getting more and more irritable when a mistake was made. Several times he surprised even himself by snapping at Sango when she messed up repeatedly on a phrase. Granted, she never messed up that certain part again, but he felt guilty for days afterwards for scolding her. So from then on, when he felt himself getting agitated with a specific part, Miroku dismissed Sango for the night to let himself calm down.

Ginta and Hakkaku hadn't heard from the Ghost for a while, and were beginning to get nervous. Surely they didn't want to hear from the Phantom, but they found that in the absence of his letters, their nerves began to grow. What did it mean that he wasn't writing to them? Was everything going well? Or… or had he found out about their plan? Was he, even now, waiting to catch them alone and strangle them?

They shuddered at these thoughts, and quickly banished them from their minds. However, they always lay on the far reaches, and the managers found that in times when they were alone or in dark places, the eerie, unwanted thoughts began to creep up on them once more.

Kuronosuke, as it was, began acting very odd around Sango. Granted, we—the author and reads—always knew that Kuronosuke was odd, but to Sango, this behavior began to worry her some. But Sango had been so busy preparing; she didn't have time to ask him about it.

All in all, the Opera House was in an extremely edgy mood as the time for the performance of Don Juan drew near.

When they finally reached the week that the opera was to be performed in, there wasn't a single ballerina who wasn't carrying a good-luck charm. Even Kagome herself, who was almost on friendly terms with Miroku, (meaning that she didn't think that he would attempt to kill her), wore a little golden cross around her neck at all times.

The performance was to be on the Friday of that week, and by Monday even the most un-superstitious of the chorus girls was jittery.

By Tuesday, Kagura had an emotional breakdown and barricaded herself in her room. She wouldn't come out even for meals, until Hakkaku himself came and begged her to rehearse, else she displease the Ghost.

On Wednesday, the rehearsals were so intense that Little Rin fainted in the middle of one of the dances, resulting in Madame Kaede telling the girls that they could have a half an hour break to rest. They gratefully seized this chance to take a small nap, though most of them overslept, causing Madame Kaede to scold them and tell them that there would be no more breaks.

Wednesday evening, one of the girls twisted an ankle (whether on purpose, or by accident), which caused general chaos among the others. The chorus protested that they were being worked too hard, and were experiencing vocal fatigue. Monsieur Toto-sai, after an hour of arguing with them, finally broke down and gave them the night off.

Bankotsu kept messing several passages up, and his horrible rendition of "The Point of No Return" made Sango want to hold her ears.

Monsieur Toto-sai was even getting fed up with Sango. She now sang in the practices (because she had to work on blending her voice with Bankotsu's) and he kept telling her, rather angrily, that she wasn't being passionate enough. The problem was, it was hard to be passionate and seductive knowing that her partner was Bankotsu. At times, she attempted to pretend he was Miroku, but most of the times she failed.

That night, Sango had a horrible headache, and was dreading her session with Miroku. She was worried that he would be displeased with her, for she would definitely not do well in this condition.

However, when Miroku came to take her down to his lair, he took one look at her and told her to take the night off as well.

"You look tired, Ma chérie. You're pale, and there are shadows under your eyes. It would do you well to rest tonight, so that you're well tomorrow."

Sango smiled in relief. "Thank you, Miroku. I really do need some sleep…" her eyelids began to flicker, and she yawned.

Miroku scooped her up and brought her carefully over to her bed. She was already asleep by the time he set her down. Miroku smiled down at her, then gently kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Sango. Sleep well."

Then he quietly swept over to the trapdoor (which he had found out that Madame Kaede had replaced), and shut it with a faint 'click' behind him.

Thursday was the worst day yet. Everyone was woken up at daybreak to begin warming up for the dress rehearsal. So, yawning and grumbling, the population of the Opera House began to stir.

Everything went down hill right from the start.

All of the ballerinas assembled almost on time, only to find that they had no instructor. Madame Kaede, usually so punctual, wasn't there yet.

They started to warm up by themselves, stretching their limbs to prepare them for the vigorous dances. When they finished, however, they found that there was still no Madame Kaede.

Kagome was beginning to worry. She wondered if anything was wrong.

Fifteen minutes later, Monsieur Toto-sai stalked in, huffing. He told them to join the chorus members, so they all shuffled out of the room they were in and onto the stage.

When everyone was there, Monsieur Toto-sai announced that Madame Kaede had taken ill, and would not be there until late afternoon. She had insisted on coming still, but had been too tired to leave her room that morning. Therefore, Monsieur Toto-sai would be helping them warm up their dances before they put everything together.

The ballet girls were extremely upset about this, and none more than Meg Kaede, but they complied anyway… after all, if they didn't, they would risk displeasing the ghost! As none of them wanted to take that chance, they tried their hardest even without their instructor.

Sango, Bankotsu, and other main characters arrived about an hour later in costume. They began to run through the entire opera, and found to their relief that it actually turned out pretty well.

When they were finished, they ran through it again, correcting any mistakes they had made the first time. By now, it was wonderful… but not quite perfect.

Madame Kaede entered by the time they were starting the third run-through, looking more pale and drawn than usual. Several of the ballet girls were startled to see her like this, and began whispering among themselves immediately about her hair, which she had left down.

"Girls, girls! Be silent!" Monsieur Toto-sai ordered them angrily. The ballerinas quickly went quiet, but they still darted glances at their instructor every once in a while.

The third time through, unfortunately, wasn't quite as good as the second. Madame Kaede halted one of the dancing pieces half way through and made them restart it, insisting that it wasn't precise enough.

So the girls, sighing and mumbling to themselves, got back in place to begin the piece.

This time it went almost perfectly, and Madame Kaede was pleased. The rest of it went well, then, but it still wasn't what the Phantom required.

One of the ballerinas sighed noisily. "It's not going to be perfect, nothing is! The only way that I can see for it to get any better would be for the Phantom himself to direct us!"

Madame Kaede smiled slightly. "Be careful what you wish for."

All of the noise in the room suddenly evaporated.

One of the chorus members looked over at Madame Kaede and whispered, "Would he?" she shuddered. "I don't think anyone would dare mess up…"

"Very well, then… this time don't mess up." A voice echoed across the stage. All of the ballet girls, excluding Kagome, squealed and ran to hide behind one another, certain that the famous "Ghost" was going to come into sight any minute now and murder them all.

"Silence!"

The chaos diminished with that one word. No one wanted to anger him any further.

"Now, start from the beginning. Remember, I'm watching, and I won't be pleased with anything other than perfection."

The girls exchanged glances and shivered. One in the back fainted, and quickly had to be revived before the show began.

Yet again, they began to run through the opera. Everyone was astounded at how well Sango did this time through, and even Bankotsu wasn't as bad as usual. It was as close to perfection that they were going to get.

At the end, when everyone had taken their bows, there was a long silence.

Everyone sat waiting for the Opera Ghost's response.

Finally, when everyone was starting to get anxious, the voice rang out yet again.

"Very good. Now make sure that opening night runs this smoothly. I shall be watching from my normal seat in Box Five, remember that…"

The ballet girls exchanged another look—How could they possibly forget?

"Bravi, everyone… bravi."

One more chapter, and then the chapter after that-- is the long waited 'Point of No Return.' It makes me sad to lower my goal from 500 to 425, but my story will soon be nearing its end! And anything in the 400s is fine with me (giddy)! Aren't you all excited that it's wrapping up soon? I don't know about me…I'll have mixed feelings.

Review!

…please?